Adam Sandler almost produced the Twilight Saga.
Actor Jackson Rathbone - who played Jasper Hale in the iconic vampire franchise - has recalled how the 58-year-old comedian's Happy Madison briefly had the rights to the big screen adaptation's of Stephanie Meyer's books, before Summit Entertainment turned the series into a global blockbuster with five films between 2008 and 2012.
Speaking during a Meet The Cullens panel at Fan Expo Canada, which was moderated by Collider's Maggie Lovitt, he said: "This IP… the book was passed around. Paramount passed on it. Big studios passed on it.
"I heard the story and this is true — Adam Sandler’s company, Happy Madison, actually bought the rights to it and owned it for like a hot minute until they realised they couldn’t figure it out either."
Rathbone joked that the film series could have looked ver different under the Happy Madison Productions banner.
He quipped: "Was Adam Sandler gonna play Edward?"
Rathbone also admitted he'd love to see his character Jasper get a sequel movie, after Meyer published the Midnight Sun companion novel in 2020, retelling the original Twilight story from Edward Cullen's perspective, rather than Bella Swan.
Elsewhere during the panel - which also included Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen) and Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen) - he suggested: "I actually would really love to see Jasper’s story be told, and it would be one of those things where they have the technology, they can de-age me — it’d be sweet.
"But, I’m also open to passing the torch."
Jasper was a Confederate soldier before being turned into a vampire, and the actor thinks his violent past could be used to create a compelling "redemption" arc which wasn't explored in the film series.
He explained: "It’s a story, to me, about redemption. It’s a story, to me, about forgiveness.
"And it’s a story, to me, about learning to love yourself through the eyes of others, and it’s a beautiful experience."
However, Rathbone also argued that viewers wouldn't need to see every part of Jasper's history on screen, as some aspects could be left to the "imagination".
He added: "We don’t have to see everything on screen… I think we have to allow ourselves to have imagination, allow ourselves to see that a character can have a past that maybe we don’t know verbatim, or that there is a possibility of redemption.”
Earlier this year, Rathbone revealed there is a secret blooper reel which shows lead actress Kristen Stewart (Bella) dropping a string of expletives.
He told Collider: "There was one time where they put out a special blooper screening — I think this is for Breaking Dawn or Eclipse - where it was just every time Kristen curses.
"It was like, when she's messing up her lines… It’s like eight minutes long. It is amazing."
